A number of methods for health care providers to consult with each other are known. There are, for example, the methods illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,307,263; 5,390,238; 5,441,047; 5,779,634; 5,802,494; 5,822,715; 5,855,550; 5,897,493; 5,899,855; 5,911,132; 5,911,687; 5,951,469; 5,989,187; 5,997,476; 6,014,432; 6,022,315; 6,024,699; and, 6,168,563. The disclosures of these references are hereby incorporated herein by reference. No representation is intended by this listing: that this is a complete listing of all pertinent prior art; or that a thorough search of all pertinent prior art has been conducted; or that no better prior art exists; or that the listed references are, or are considered to be, material to patentability. Nor should any of such representations be inferred.
It is not possible for any one health care provider to be proficient in all areas of medicine. A common practice among health care providers is for a first health care provider to consult a second health care provider and have that second health care provider examine the patient and offer a diagnosis and treatment plan. Frequently, when a health care provider needs a consultation, there is no other health care provider immediately available. In a hospital setting, the health care provider can generally call for a consultation from another health care provider with little difficulty. However, in an office setting, the health care provider requiring a consultation must often send the patient to the office of the health care provider he or she wishes to consult. This can work an extreme inconvenience for the patient, who often must travel a great distance to visit the second health care provider.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method for health care providers to consult one another regarding diagnosis and treatment of patients. Health care providers in general expend a large portion of their time treating patients, so that often one requiring a consultation is not available to provide a consultation at a time when another one is available to request a consultation. Thus, it is further desirable to provide a method for storing consultation requests until the health care provider being consulted is available. Likewise, it is also desirable to provide a method of storing consultations until the health care provider requesting the consultation is available.